Leadership development dynamics and succession planning in Seventh-Day Adventist educational institutions in Zambia

Abstract

The Seventh-day Adventist Church operates an educational system, which caters learners from basic schooling to tertiary levels. But shortage of qualified candidates to run these institutions seems to continue to be a growing challenge in Seventh-day Adventist educational institutions. People often leave the institutions before educational reformalization has been institutionalized. Subsequently, people often hold leadership positions without adequate leadership preparation. Because of this, education institutions are facing great challenges in terms of leadership and leadership continuity. For the successful continued growth and development of educational institutions, there needs to be a system for the development of leaders and written succession plans in place. It has been noted that Seventh-day Adventist educational institutions seem to have overlooked this important factor.The purpose of this study was to seek to understand and provide an in-depth look at the current state of leadership development and succession planning among Adventist educational institutions in Zambia, as well as their perception towards leadership development and succession planning. Quantitative and qualitative case study was conducted, and a self-completion questionnaire was utilized. The population included administrators and a stratified random sample was carried out for the staff level management. Documents related to leadership development and succession planning where analyzed. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to analyze data from respondents. Correlation and t-test was used to determine the difference in perception between administrators and staff management in regards to leadership development and succession planning. Based on the findings, Seventh-day Adventist educational institutions have issues with proper leadership development and proper succession planning that prepare future leaders for continuity. As a result, institutions are facing great challenges in terms of leadership continuity and knowledge capital for the future, which threaten organizational stability. Despite this, all participants in all educational institutions strongly stated that having leadership development and succession planning is very important. The findings also revealed that current staff level management have no opportunities for leadership development and training available for them. It is clear from the findings that the traditional replacement approach method used to fill vacant senior positions is viewed as being reactive rather than proactive. For the successful continued growth and development of an Adventist educational institution, there is need to have a system for the development of leaders and a succession plan. All Adventist educational institutions should work diligently todevelop, groom and identify competent, motivated persons who will be equipped to guarantee meaningful benefits. This will ensure long-term sustainability for the educational institutions.